name for me five prominent female office holders who are pro-life. you can't. four three? one. you can't. they have been personaleded ed you can't. they have been personaleded ed you can't. they have been personaleded ed you can't. they have been personaleded ed purged from the party. there's no pro-life democrats left. nope. she's not an elected official. think about it. so let's ask mrs. clinton and people on the left. what's it mean to be pro-choice? i'm curious. what's it mean. does it mean abortion any time, anyone, anywhere? taxpayer funded abortion? half billion dollars planned parenthood gets and support's one party's candidates and does no mammograms? how about partial birth seven, eight, and nine month abortions. what about the halfway point? what about sex selection abortion? we need a two-way conversation on abortion, and that should be this year. the gender card will be played. idea of a female president, i

think that's terrific. wait for them, they are ages 10, 7, and 5. a female president is terrific but the question, ladies and gentlemen, is not do you want a woman to be president, but do you want that woman to be president? [ applause ] she's not a hypothetical. she's hillary. every election is about the future and not the past. every election is about you and not me, the candidate. and every election with one exception since 1960 has had voters support the candidate that they told pollsters they saw as more optimistic, uplifting, and just pleasant.

[ inaudible ] [ cheers and applause ] free speech. okay. so that begins with you. be on the be optimistic. be a happy warrior. take seven minutes of someone listening to you and tell people who disagree with you or have not given it much thought. why row are here why you care why you're a conservative why you fight for freedom. i like to say happy mother's day to all the moms grandmothers, god moms, and god bless you all. ♪ ♪ >> thank you.

now i have the distinct pleasure to say a few words about and welcome back to the stage, my cohost for today. our next speaker is a great conservative leader, a great friend of mine, and an outstanding member of congress. jeff duncan is a south carolina native and 19 88 graduate of clemson university. [ cheers and applause ] i was going to say alabama but i didn't -- [ audience reacts ] jeff wouldn't have appreciated that. prior to being elected to the united states house of representatives, he served as a member of the south carolina house from 2002 to 2010, and he was president and ceo of jay duncan associates, a south carolina based family owned real estate marketing firm. elected in 2010, jeff currently sits on three important house

committees including natural resources, homeland security, and foreign affairs. he also serves as a subcommittee chairman of the all-important western hemisphere subcommittee. he's consistently been rated as one of the most conservative members of congress for his support of limited government. free markets in individual liberty. jeff is a true fiscal conservative and a hero to the american taxpayer. justify duncan is a staunch supporter of your second amendment rights, and a leading defender of the unborn. jeff's been married to his wife melody, for 26 years and they have three sons, grahm john philip, and parker and they are members of the first baptist church in clinton. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the cohost of the south carolina freedom summit and my good friend jeff

duncan. ♪ ♪ again, it's a great day to be an american and to be in south carolina too. no doubt about that. thank you, again, for all being here in greenville, this great freedom summit. it's great for me to be here with so many patriotic americans. that's what you guys are. [ applause ] you're showing that patriotism by being here today, and it's great to share the stage with so many great leaders in the conservative movement. you know, 40 years ago ronald reagan told a group similar to this one that we should raise a banner of bold colors k makemaking

it unmistakenly known where we stand on issues. we need boldness more than ever with clear conservative messaging because we win with conservative messaging. [ applause ] now, we as conservatives, we got to have the courage to lead, but we have to have the wisdom to listen. to listen to you, the american people. you work hard for your money. do ya? i do. you work hard for your money and, really, we need to protect it. we in government. now, i might be channelling indiana governor and mike pence when i say this but let me echo something that i told eric cantor as the minority leader in october 2010 before the republicans won a historic election to win the house and take that gavel and way from nancy pelosi. [ applause ] i told minority leader cantor

i'm an unabashed principled christian conservative republican, and it's in that order. [ applause ] i reminded house leadership of that back in jap and that's something i don't apologize for. reagan gave a speech called "a time for choosing," and we're at a time like that again. a time for choosing. what do i mean? we can continue to govern the way we have for years and that government led to continued deficit spending led to borrowing an 18 trillion national debt, it's led to regulations which limit american's ability to dream and innovate, stifles entrepreneurism, and this limits processes for family health care and a wide range of other day-to-day functions. or we can choose to do thing differently, and i think do things better.

because i believe, and i'm reminded of a quote, government, which governs best is the government which governs least. [ applause ] americans just want government to get out of the way, and americans will get back to work. good government does not mean doing the big deals or the grand bargains. nor is it passing 1600-page plus bills neither i nor the american people get to read before voting on them. whether the bills are pelosi's bills or baiper's bills, we can do better. if you got to pass a thousand page bill, the process is broken. one of the benefits of being an early primary state like iowa new hampshire, south carolina, is that we get all the candidates coming through our states. a lot of them will be on this stage today. any one sticking their toe in the presidential waters will come see us. a lot of the faces are here today, and they bring fresh ideas, new energy and we get to

play a big part in influencing their platforms. what resinates with us or not. that's why i said earlier show with your applause what you agree with. remain silent if you don't. they need to hear that. you're helping them in that stage of the game begin to set their platform and understand what resinates with us conservative americans. it's about inspiring the people with a vision of what they hope and what we want the nation to be post 2016. what do they need to hear from us? well, i talking about it in terms of jobs energy and the founding fathers. what's that mean? well jobs. what can we do as a nation and what can i do as a congressman and what can i do as a congress to unleash and unbridle that spirit that helps americans create american jobs? i understand government creates jobs. government creates government jobs americans create american jobs, and that's how we get the economy back on track. [ applause ]

many of you know me. i'm very strong on energy independence, and i believe energy is a segue to job creation. i'm reminded by jeff landry he held up a sign at the president's jobs speech back in september of 2011 that said drilling equals jobs, drill now. drill here. let's be american energy independent. energy segued to job creation. [ applause ] the third component of that is our founding fathers. that's what mean? simple principles of limited government, free markets and individual liberties. i go back to what we said, unleash, unedbridle that spirit we have as americans because we understand american exceptionalism. our founding fathers did as well. jobs, energy, the founding fathers. that's an acronym that spells jeff, and i think jeff is a winning message.

[ laughter ] thomas jefferson gave us a great quote in the office, and wives approve of government restraining us to harm each other which otherwise leaves us free to pursue our own, and the bread which it has earned a government will keep us from harming one another. that means i can't steal your business idea or harm you in other ways but otherwise government leaves us alone to our own pursuits to choose to chase the american dream. when we achieve the american dream, it's not taken from the mouths of labor the bread which it's earned. that's the sum of good government. we have to return to the sum of good government. that's what's limited government. [ applause ] our nation, which was conceived in liberty is enslaved by the shackles of big government. government and lobby is not just about passing bills. new congressman from alabama, gary palmer said the other day,

i don't blame liberals for the condition of the country. i blame us, talking about republicans. he's so right. we have a historic united states congress right now, and it'll be what we do with the majority that count when they right the chapter of american history. we can't just continue to manage the decline of a great nation. now, it's no secret that i vote no a lot in congress. i'm often asked, jeff, what can you vote yes on? well, i can vote yes to a secure border. [ applause ] i can vote yes to a balanced budget and a balanced budget amendment. because guess what, folks? we have to stop borrowing so much money. $18 trillion in debt. i can say yes to any pro-life

bill that protects life from conception forward. i vote yes to spending cuts to the entitlement program that are bankrupting the nation rather than the spending cuts that are from the veterans. if you are a veteran or you serve, let me pause here and say thank you for your service to our great nation. kyle carpenter was a prime example of that. may god bless you. i don't minds and i believe one of the folks that speak to you today may be the president of the united states, and i don't mind if their use their pen and phone as long as they use the phone to call congress and use their pen to sign the bills we send to them. that's how it's supposed to work. because at the enof the day, at the end of the day, you deserve a government that is efficient effective, and accountable. accountable to you as the american taxpayer. so 2016 is the next big challenge, and like you, i look forward to hearing from these candidates, i want to hear their

vision for what america can be post 20 16 and i hope it's grounded in understanding of what makes america and what has made america great. i want to hear that vision. here in the 21st century, we have to rebrand the gop. we have to shift from being known as the grand old party to having the gop stand for great opportunity party because opportunity for all americans is where we find success. now, thomas jefferson was right when he said the people are the ultimate guardians of their own liberty. you are the conscious of america. thank you for being that conscious, that guardian of liberty, and defenders of the united states constitution. i'm glad to be here today. i'm excited about this event. i'm excited about the crowd that i see before you. i want to say god bless you and god continue to bless the united states of america.

[ applause ] i want to remind everyone tomorrow is mother's day, and i lost my father last month, but my mom, diane is with us today, and i want to take a moment to say happy mother's day to you, and i love you. i don't know where she is -- there's my box right there, i love you, mom. [ applause ] but there's another special person that's here with me today, one if you're from the third district, you realize my wife does not attend functions that i do because she's a working mom. she works three or four days a week, and when i say she's a working mom, she's driving the kids around, we have active boys involved in band and sports and all the other things and my son, gram is here volunteers today, but i'd like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the first lady of the third congressional district, my wife,

melody. [ applause ] let me tell you i love this young lady. so i take the opportunity to enter deuce the next speaker, someone you've already seen many times on stage, but he's going to bring you a very clear conservative message. that's my good friend, served as president of citizens united and citizens united foundation since 2001. he's the former chief investigator for the united states house of representatives committee on government reform and oversight. ironically, that's a committee that your own congressman in the fourth district is on, tray goudy. heard of him? [ cheers and applause ] he can't be here today because of a family commitment. i honor and appreciate that of him, but he does a great job.

during bill clinton's two terms as president, dave led investigations ranging from white water to the transfer of dual use technology to china to foreign fund raising in the 1996 clinton re-election campaign. why does that sound so familiar? seems like hillary clinton's involved in that now, right? well, he's authored four books including best selling "intelligence failure: how clinton's policy failures set the stage for 9/11." they won a landmark decision at the united states supreme court in citizens united versus the federal election commission, the case that saw the government assert in oral arguments it had the constitutional authority to ban political books, strike down restrictions on free speech. as president of the citizens united productions he's produced 25 documentaries since 2004 most recently rocky mountain heist and occupying unmass featuring andrew

breitbart, the gift of love with mike huckabee, and nine days that changed the world and ronald reagan, nine days of destinytest destiny. he was born in boston, attended the university of maryland, served as 20 years as a volunteer firefighter in montgomery county where he resides with his wife, susan, their four children, and griffin's with us today a great young man, and citizen's united, a great organization. join me in welcoming my good friend and today's cohost dr. dave bossey. ♪ ♪ [ applause ] wow, that was just like i wrote that, jeff, thank you. [ laughter ] well, thank you, all, again,

very much, ladies and gentlemen. and i do want to say a special happy mother's day to my mom who is watching from home in annapolis, maryland, so happy mother's day, mom, and ipts want to say hope mother's day to my wife susan home with our three girls. it is, first of all, griffin and i will be home first thing in the morning, we'll be there by lunchtime. happy mother's day it my wife of our four children. i just want to continue with saying thank you to jeff. jeff duncan's been a great partner in this event, and working with him, his professional staff is just been a real treat, and i know a lot of you contacted them directly and they are just awesome. the south carolina freedom summit is the third in our series. first, we did new hampshire and then iowa, and now we're here at

the magnificent peace center which is just absolutely stunning here in greenville, and our lineup of great conservative leaders speaking today is our best yet. these men and women make me proud to be a conservative. this group today is strong. this group is diverse. this group is here to shape the policy debate on the lead up to the all important south carolina primary early next year. when you compare our group with their counterparts on the left you'll see a dramatic difference. it's a difference that the mainstream media does not want to talk about, so i will. tea today, you're going to hear from a former fortune 500 ceo who exemplifies success and is a leading woman in america. you'll hear from a conservative governor who's been elected three times in a blue state.

you'll hear from united states senators who are advocating for innovative and bold reforms in washington. you'll hear from the first indian american governor ever elected in the united states. you'll hear from a world renowned african-american brain surgeon. [ applause ] and you're going to hear from a former united nations ambassador, and you're going to hear from an icon of american business and entrepreneurship. these men and women all believe in american exceptionalism, and that our best days are yet to come, and that he we are still that shining city on the hill. ronald reagan said, and i quote freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. we didn't pass it on to our children in the bloodstream.

it must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same. that's why we're here today, as conservative activists to ensure freedom and opportunity we all agree up with will still be here when our children and our grandchildren are grown. because this is not guaranteed. we must be vigilant and see to it that the american dream survives for future generations. now, back in 2008, barack obama told us he was going to fundamentally transform america. well, six and a half years later, only 18 more months to go. [ cheers and applause ] but we understand what he was

talking about, for obama it all started with slowly lyly but surely chipping away at our god given liberties, the free market economy and the men and women in uniform. i had enough, and i can't wait for 18 more months, but here today, we have to rededicate ours and stopping the left's big government intrusion into our lives. we have to safeguard and cherish the sacred liberties and never take them for granted again. i have to tell you the next round of liberals coming down the pipe is worse than barack obama. just look at bernie sanders and hillary clinton. ladies and gentlemen, it's no time for another clinton. hillary clinton's ultra left

wing liberal agenda is more dangerous than barack obama's. she actualliments to restrict our sacred first amendment our free speech rights, with a new constitutional amendment that would essentially overturn the first amendment. i can fell you i will not stand for that. [ applause ] and as we know, clintons are synonymous with the word "scandal," and as a person who investigated the clintons in the white house in the '90s, i can tell you the latest scandals involving her missing e-mails, big foreign money donations to the clinton foundation in exchainex

exchange for government favors is extremely dangerous. this makes me think back to 1996 because that's what they were doing then when they were in the white house. it is clear -- it is a clear-cut conflict of interest and these deals could jeopardize our national security. they may already have. there needs to be a criminal investigation into these allegations now. [ applause ] i actually hope -- i actually hope there's a grand jury somewhere looking into this right now. because there needs to be. in the meantime, conservatives must limit the damage as we head into the last 18 months of the obama administration. barack obama enacted much of the agenda like obamacare and amnesty through shady legislative maneuvering or by executive fiat. the centralized government in washington has inserted themselves into the lives of

everyday americans like never before. it regulates more of what we do and how we live our lives. it spends more than anyone ever thought possible. it takes more of our money in taxes than any government in history. instead of doing a few constitutionally mandated things well, like securing our borders, our government now does too many things, and all of them poorly. our country is mired in this great darkness. our hollywood infused culture is volger priffrivolous, and mocks scripture and treats those with values and those who hold them as objects of ridicule.

it calls traditional values offensive and exalts the obscene. our federal government has become the nightmare that our founding fathers warned us about, but we can reverse it. you must get involve edd in order to save america. as was said and i quote, only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. all of us have heard that before, and all of us need to wake up every day and make sure we're not standing idle. we know, like ronald reagan, that america's best days are heard of us, and if we work to restore american values and liberty liberty, we can fix the problems. our values are too strong and fellow citizens too good to be defeated. as you know, our economy is still struggling. obama's economic policies failed

miserably. crony capitalists work hand in hand to secure favors and special treatment while hard working americans are on the short end. president obama and the liberal elites in washington do not value an honest day's work and instead think government dependency, government handouts are the best we can do as a nation. i rejelgtct that. i think we know a better way. conservatives know that if we unleash the economic power of the free market that america's economy will be great once again. our national leaders in policies must empower people to succeed in life. no government program can give somebody the dignity that comes with earning a paycheck in supporting their family. our hope for a better tomorrow must rest in the free enterprise system in the knowledge that it is the only way to build lasting

prosperity. under obama and his administration, our foreign policy has become an utter disgrace. we are far less secure today and far less respected around the world since barack obama took office. barack obama and hillary clinton's record on national security has been dismal. it's been an utter failure. whether it's isis, iran, russia, benghazi benghazi, or our relationship with israel. freedom -- freedom no matter how hard we fight for it, will be meaningless if we cannot defend that freedom. during the clinton and obama administration, america has become weaker, limping from one

international crisis to another while our enemies grow bolder. the tyrants of the world today are no different than the tie rants of the past. they are all at heart cowards who fear the cleansing power of liberty above all else. america must once again be a fearless champion of that freedom all around the world. the lineup of american leaders here today will be the ones to formulate these policies with your gienszuidance that gets america back on track at home and abroad. these leaders cannot win this fight alone. they need americans all across this great nation to join with them if we are going to save america. there is nothing stopping us from making america great once again. let's start with a change of leadership in washington.

[ cheers and applause ] we can restore our economic, social, and religious liberties. let the effort begin here and now. liberty is a gift given to us by god. therefore, the government cannot take it away. we must be ready to fight to keep it. thank you, and god bless america. [ applause ] we are couldn'ting ingcontinuing this coverage, and jeff duncan and citizens united cohosted the summit you can see in the entirety at ccspan.org. >> as if today has not been

terrific enough, i get an awesome responsibility to transition over to really all of the folks that you came here to see today. i thought you came to see me. wait a minute. the next speaker grew up in the small wisconsin town a son of a pastor. he had the spirit of service instilled in him at an early age. scott walker was first elected to the wisconsin state assembly in 1993. while there, he authored important pieces of legislation that included truth in sentencing photo i.d. for voting and the elimination of the statute of limitations on sexual assault cases. in 2002 scott walker was

elected milwaukee county executive to reform the scandal ridden county government. for eight years as county executive, he faithfully kept his promise to spend the taxpayers' money as if it was his own. not only did scott walker cut country's debt -- the county's debt by 30% and reduce the county work force by more than 25 %, he also gave back over 35 -- 375,000 of his own salary back to the taxpayers of wisconsin. ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce the governor of wisconsin, scott walker! ♪ ♪ [ cheers and applause ]

freedom, freedom endowed by our creator, defined by our constitution, but defended, each and every day, by the men and women who proudly year the uniform of these united states. let's begin by asking all those who have served, our veterans, all those who are serving, be it in active duty, the guard the reserve, and because it was military spouse's day yesterday let's invite their spouses and family members all stand up for a round of applause. [ cheers and applause ]

thank you, to each and every one of you. we're going to talk about freedom today. i know you love your country. that's why you served. we love this great country we call america. thank you for making it possible for us to have events like this. you know i got to begin by saying thanks, great to be back in south carolina, great to be back in greenville, and, in fact, the last time i was here, we not only talked to grassroots activist, but i went to the harley davidson dealership for a t-shirt. if i was not off to israel this afternoon, i might have rented a motorcycle like a road king i have home to ride a little bit, but i can guarantee you sometime this summer i'm getting on a bike to ride around the state of south carolina. that would be a lot of fun. [ applause ] and looking at this crowd, thank

you for coming out here today, but thank you because i know many of you helped us years ago facing a battle up the way in wisconsin back when we faced the one and only recall that's been successful in america. so many people here and so many people across this state and across this country, you helped us out and you made phone calls. some of you literally physically came up and knocked on doors for us. you sent in $20 along the way, and we thank you for that. most importantly we particularly appreciate how many of you prayed for us. that meant the world for us. don't stop praying. we appreciate it along the way. [ applause ] it's interesting for us in a way, kind of, how things started back in 2009. we were sitting down and talking about, thinking about ultimately praying about getting into the race for governor we knew it would be tough in our state. you see, in wisconsin, there's more democrats than republicans in our state. in fact, the last time a republican carried the state for president was 1984.

that's when i was in high school. i had a much bigger head of hair. [ laughter ] and so that's a tough state. we knew we faced tough battles before. it was mentioned in the introduction, before running for governor in 2002 we raised our two sons in a place called milwaukee county. we live in a town today called wawatosa, where our family home is at, and there was a scandal. the guy got the county into trouble. in fact, they tried to ironically attempt to recall him, needed signature, got double what they needed, about to be recalled and resigned a week after i announced that if he was not getting out of the way, i was running for county executive. never thought of running before. no republican had ever. sometimes people say how many years was it since a republican won? never. never, ever was there a republican in the spot before. we knew for matt, alex and all the other sons and daughters alike, we needed a better county.

a few years later after we had done eight consecutive years without raising the property tax from the previous year in the budgets introduced after we reduced the size of the work force and debt by 25% plus, and after we got economic things in order in the county, but did good things like the park system winning a gold metal for the best park in the country, and we know if we could take on milwaukee county around, we could take that battle on at the state level. why take on the challenge knowing how difficult it would be to win in wisconsin? i said i had two simple reasons. matt and alex. those are our two boys. as parents it was unacceptable to think that our sons would grow up in a state that was not as great as the state that we grew up in. we got in that election. we won the battle. shortly after we took off in january of 2011, you may have heard, but we did big things. [ laughter ] at one point, we had more than

100,000 protester rs in erters in and around the capital. we had death threats against me my family, my kids targeted on facebook, my parents got grief. throughout it all, all that did, their intent there was to intimidate us. that's what they do. they try to intimidate the federal, at the state, and even at the local level. instead, we knew it reminded us to refocus on why we got elected in the first place to think more about the next generation than just about the next election. the great thing was it worked. it worked. [ applause ] today, the state i'm proud to lead once in january 2010 had a rate of 9.2 % before i took office in december of that year, it was last month, moved town to 4.6% up employment.

[ cheers and applause ] a state that when we took office was ranked, you know, every year there's rankings of the best and worst states to do business in. in 2010, you know where wisconsin was? 41st in the country on that ranking. just a day ago that ranking came out. you know with wisconsin is today? 12th best state in the country for doing business and creating jobs. [ applause ] when we came in, we inherited a $3 $3.6 billion budget deficit. every year i've been in office we had a surplus. we're debating the next two years in our state, we'll end with a surplus of $199 million, nearly half a billion dollars in the structural side of things. [ applause ] [ applause ] our pension is fully funded the only one in the country. our bond rating is strong. rainy day fund is 165 times bigger than when we took office. it's more than economic and

fiscal issues. i'm proud to say in our state, we took on big challenges as well like regulations, litigation, and we made it safe again to enforce common sense, not just bureaucratic red tape. we defunded planned parenthood and passed pro-life legislation. [ cheers and applause ] we believe in a sanctity of life, and on top of that signed concealed carry so people can protect themselves, their family, and their property. [ applause ] something y'all can appreciate here but we are now -- who would think in the midwest, we'd be the 25th state in the country to have the freedom to work regardless of the labor yun yourunion or not. [ applause ] i'm proud to say earlier this year the united states supreme

court finally signed off and gave us the ability to enforce the law i signed years ago shortly after taking office that says we want to make it easy to vote, but hard to cheat, and in wisconsin, you need a photo i.d. to vote in the state of wisconsin. [ cheers and applause ] and so the reason i tell you that all here today is not to brag. well not much. [ laughter ] but rather to tell you that if all those common sense conservative reforms can happen in a state that's not voted for a republican for president since 1984, i got to tell you in america if we have leadership willing to go big, bold in washington, we can make america great again! [ cheers and applause ] i believe that's why you're here. i know i love the country. do you?

yeah. we love it not just for ourselves, but for our children our grandchildren, and future generations. i have to tell you three quick ways why i think it's important for us to try to chart a new path of leadership in this country. first off, when it comes to growth, we have to talk about growth, not just austerity. i'm about balanced budgets, i've done it and debt deficits in the country, but we have to talk about growth. there is a stark contrast out. there you know the president and people like hillary clinton, when they talk about growth they talk about growing the economy in washington. think about it. last year alone, reports showed that six of the top ten wealthiest counties in america, you know where they are at? in and around washington, d.c. i got news for them. the majority of us from america, we understand that we create jobs, we create jobs out in the cities, towns, and villages across the country. people create jobs not the government. it's time to get government out of the way to create more of

those jobs. [ cheers and applause ] it's about empowering people and employers to do that by getting government out of the way, lower taxes, fewer regulations, repeal repealing obamacare and putting patients back in charge again. [ applause ] using all the abundance of what god gave us for energy here in the country and in this continent instead of relying on places around the world in places that hate us. all those things are growing the economy. i get it kick out of this. in my state, we cut the tax burden on the hard working people of the state by some $2 billion over the past couple years. in fact, property taxes in my state are lower today than they were four years ago. what governor can say that across america, right? [ applause ] but sometimes i get people that say, well, why are you obsessed with cutting taxes? it's simple.

it's simple. my wife is here with me today and some 22 years ago, in 1993 we were married and we just celebrated back in february 6, our wedding anniversary, and i remember not long after we were first married i went out and committed a really bad act. i went to kohl's department stores near the house and i bought something for the price it was marked at. [ laughter ] big mistake. she said to me, you can never go back to kohl's until you learn how to shop there. now i know over the years that if i'm going to buy a shirt that was $29.99 i go to the rack that says now $19.99, and i get the sunday insert out with the scratch off thing that gets me another 15 or 20%, or maybe i remember to get the flier out we got mail to the house that's 15 20 and if we're lucky, 30% off, right? that's golden. and then up to the register, and

she's with, and she reaches into the purse for some of the kohl's cash, and next thing you know, whey ring it up they pay us to buy the shirt right? [ laughter ] [ applause ] right? [ applause ] well, not quite, but it feels like it, right? how does a great american company like kohl's make money at 19.99 or broaden the price, widen the volume and more people can buy the products. that's how i feel about the taxpayers' money. charge really high rates, and a few can afford it. or we can lower the rates, broaden the base and more people participate in the economy, right? [ cheers and applause ] see, i call that the kohl's curve. i was talking to my friend art laffer yesterday, on art was a

good adviser for president reagan. i called it the laffer curve. i said, i love you but it's the kohl's curve now. that's what it is. one, first talk more about growth in the country. secondly, we have to talk more about reform. we need leadership when it comes to reform. this president, people like hillary clinton tend to measure success in government by how many people are dependent on the government. food stamps, unemployment medicaid, you name it. we success by the opposite, but how many people are no longer dependent on the government. [ cheers and applause ] you see we understand in america that true freedom and prosperity do not come from the mighty hand of the government. they come from empowering people to live their own lives and control their own destinies through the dignity that's born of work. that is born of work.

you know, dave in the introduction talked about the small town i was raised in. my first job, i remember was washing dishes at the country side strauptrestaurant. i moved up to the big time and flipped hamburgers at mcdonald's and paul ryan lived down the road from me, flipping them in jamesville. what's true, is paul's manager told him he had to flip hamburgers in the back because he did not have the permsonal skills to work the front recommendation steer. [ laughter ] you can kid about that but you think about growing up my dad was a preacher at the first baptist church my mom was a secretary doing books for the clothing store, and raised my brother and i. my grandparents were farmers they did not have plumbing until they went off to high school and my dad's dad was a machinist for 22 years over the state line

in rock ford. my brother and i look back on our lives as young kids we really realized that from our family, we did not inherent fame or forture. we inherited the belief if you work hard, play by the rules, you can do and be anything you want. that's the american dream. [ cheers and applause ] that's the american dream. we need to fight for that. sadly, there are many of the fellow americans who feel that's out of reach. it's not out of reach because of wall street. it's out of reach because of k street. we need to get government out of the way and put the power back in the hands of the american people. [ applause ] and, timely, i just want to spend a couple moments talking about the third thing that i think is important. that is safety. someone says safety. is that fire and police? that's important to local levels, but safety to me is what

some call in washington national security. i call it safety. in a few hours, we're going to head off to israel to meet with folks including the prime minister and others to talk about the risk they have but when i look at not just israel, but that region in the world i call it safety because, you see, when i watch a jordanian pilot being burned alive in a cage when i see christians from egypt and elsewhere around the world be beheaded because of their faith, that's something i feel right here. you feel that in your heart and soul. national security is what you roadway about in the newspaper. safety is something you feel. you start to worry it's not just about somewhere else around the world, but it's something that could happen anywhere. france belgium, canada, texas. it can happen anywhere in the world, and i got to tell you, it's something that even though as a governor, i do not deal with it day in and day out, it's increasingly becoming the most

important thing to focus in on because i think about safety, i think about my own children and yours as well. i can't tell you how frustrated i am with the president and the people we advise like hillary clinton because a president drew a line in the sand and allowed people to cross it. he called isis the jv squad who calls yemen is success story, who calls iran -- iran a place where we can do business. think about that. on monday i just met with the family of a marine who's been held in iran since august of 2011. i met with his sister, sergeant amir's mother and sister. he has been held in iranian prison since august of 2011. that makes me think back to the fact that as a kid i remember tieing ribbons around the tree in front of our house when americans were held hostage for 4 4 4 days.

i know one of the hostages who lives in wasa wisconsin. he was the youngest held for 444 days. iran has not changed much other than the names are different in terms of who the supreme leader is, and we need a president who is going to back away from that deal in iran and set the record straight. [ cheers and applause ] we need -- [ applause ] we need a commander in chief who will once and for all call it what it is, and that is that radical islamic terrorism is a threat to us all.

we need a president who will affirm that israel is our ally and start acting like it. and we need a leader in america who will have the courage to look the american people in the eye and tell them what might not be easy to say, and that is this will not take a day, it might not take a week it might not take a month or even a year but i got to tell you, it's not a matter of if another attempt is made on american soil, but it is when another attempt is made on american soil, and behalf of your children and mine, i want a leader who is willing to take the fight to them before they take the fight to us. [ cheers and applause ]

[ applause ] and so let me just end with telling you one quick story for a minute or two. and that is i love this country. i'm an optimist. as challenging as these times are, both here in america when it comes to fiscal and economic policy and around the world, the challenges are great. i'm an optimist. i believe in the american people. i believe in your love and mine for this great country, and i believe with the right leadership we can make it better again when it comes to our nation's capital. let me tell you why. certainly, the examples we see across the country in the states is a great testimony to how things have gotten better with common sense conservative leadership over the last few years in our state houses, but let me tell you one last thing about why i believe america will once again be great. that is because it's a part of the history.

it's who we are. you see, as a -- [ applause ] as a kid growing up in that small town, i got to tell you, i -- maybe i was a little geeky but i loved history so much i thought of our founders like superheros, bigger than life. and so years ago, when i was young, we never had a chance to go to philadelphia, but years back when we got the chance to go to philadelphia for the first time, i got to tell you, i was all pumped up. i got up early in the morning, went out with the national park service, saw the liberty bell and independence hall. i thought, here it is, the place where they did that incredible work. i was ready to be blown away. early on that morning in philadelphia, we get out we go in independence hall and if you is been there you know it's smaller than the stage just this corner of the stage right here where that all happened, and i got out as the sun was rising looked at the desk and i looked at the chairs, and it

dawned on me. these were ordinary people. these were ordinary people who did something extraordinary. they did not just risk their political careers. these were people who did not just risk their business ventures. these were patriots who literally risked their lives. their lives for the freedoms we hold dear today. [ applause ] what makes me love this country so much is i think in moments like that, and it remind me what makes america great, what makes us exceptional, what makes us the greatest country in the history of the world? it's been all throughout our nation's history. in times of crisis be it economic or fiscal, be it military or spiritual, what has

made america amazing has been all throughout those times that there's been men and women of courage who have. willing to think more about the future of their children and their grandchildren than they thought about their own futures. language, let me tell you here once and for all this is one of those times. this is one of the moments in american history. this is the time we can look back and tell future generations, we were there. we heeded the call. we did what was required to make america great again. thank you for being here. thank you for being a part of that movement. god gleszbless you. let's go forward making america great again. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ ♪

tell you what, this an awesome event because of you guys and the energy you're projecting. the next speaker, someone the south kind of knows very well. when you run for public office the most important thing you do is get out in the community and to listen. i'm not talking about conducting a photo opportunity out on main street or at chipotle with sunglasses on, right? pretending to listen to someone. what i mean is really spending time out in the community listening to the people's concerns. i strongly believe if washington, politicians would do more of that spend time listening, and the nation would be better off. when rick santorum ran for president in 2012, he was everywhere, in people's homes giving the attention you'd expect someone running for the state house, not united states president. in fact, i remember logging on facebook one day, and there was

pictures of halloween phone party and i remember thinking, man, that college kid has really realistic santorum mask before realizing that was rick. [ laughter ] another thing i appreciate about rick is his stance as an unabashed pro-life conservative. let me introduce someone who does not need introduction in south carolina, someone who came in second last time, he won 11 states and he looks forward to giving you a great message. ladies and gentlemen rick santorum. ♪ ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> thank you very much. thank you very much, jeff. i appreciate it. thank you very much for that great introduction. speaking of introductions, when

i'm in south carolina, i usually start out every speech i give by introducing a couple people. my two boys, john and daniel. i'm proud of all my children but in south carolina, i'm particularly proud of these two guys. john and daniel are sophomores and juniors at the citadel down in charleston. [ cheers and applause ] captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2008 captioning performed by vitac